"FORCE" (Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy) by Weezilou

"FORCE" (Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy)

It's said we learn something new every day...this one was a "biggie"! Our traveling companions, Susan and Alan, had been here a year ago and wanted us to see it. I should say, there's not a great deal to photograph that tells the story concisely...much is about the bay you see out the window past the museum display here.

I photographed much of the information as I knew I'd like to learn more at leisure, so one small paragraph explains, "Force works with industry, regulators and researchers to understand how tidal technology can become a safe and viable energy solution."

For those who may not know, this body of water, The Bay of Fundy, has the highest and lowest daily tides in the world. Many of the attempts to harness the energy of this movement of water has torn apart all equipment.

Personally, I find the following most interesting, as it's something Ken has talked about for years. As a young boy, he received his "Weekly Reader" in school, and he recalls vividly, reading about the Bay of Fundy. As far back as the early 50s, it discussed the notion of building a dam across this body of water tio harness the energy, and it was a topic that he thought about as he grew and studied engineering in college. His concern was that taking that much energy out of the ocean could disturb the balance of nature (entropy). I did note on one of the informational panels that this was also a concern of researchers in the present.

With 20/20 hindsight, we can look at all the attempts by man to fly before the successful plane was built. I have to wonder how history will record the windmills (that I feel are a major blight on the landscape and disturbing to the eye when driving past them for a stretch) or,similarly, the fields of solar panels, another blight on the landscape. I'm not unaware that we need "something", but again, what will history record and have we found the answer yet?.

http://365project.org/Weezilou/album-excess/2014-09-25 If the water works, it would be wonderful if we might be able to avoid this choice...
Oh Louise. This great shot has triggered so many thoughts. Our energy bills and cost of petrol in the UK are crippling because successive governments have tried to make us consider our consumption using tax as a blunt edged tool. Like you I feel we have to be aware of the ongoing damage alternative sources can cause. I don't mind seeing wind turbines out to sea as we have them here, there are some in Goonhilly in Cornwall that I can almost accept too . My sister @kelly2 has just won the battle not to have a turbine on the hill behind them.had it gone ahead they would have had to sell the home they've come to love and the slice of paradise Jeremy has created by his talent as a gardener. One might think they weren't green but they have a solar array on their property (I uploaded a shot of it in August).. All this ramble from one shot. That's 365 for you!
October 3rd, 2014  
Awesome shots
October 3rd, 2014  
great way to represent the day. nice shot.
October 3rd, 2014  
I wonder what that the future genarations will say about the nuclear waste buried all over the globe. If it stays buried...
October 3rd, 2014  
Interesting read. I believe we are our own worst enemy
October 3rd, 2014  
@ceilidh 365 for you, indeed, Margaret! And it's just for someone like you that I wrote the information I did because I hoped someone would read and relate to it! I remember well the gardens you posted and the story of the solar panels. Truly, I have a visceral reaction to a grove of those wind turbines! If it weren't such a hot-button topic here (with me most frequently being the naysayer!) I'd post a photo I took at approx 34,000' in a plane (obviously!) Somewhere over Pennsylvania, there was a field of those things, and it was unmistakably clear and discernible in the photo(s) I took...both at a wide and then close-up view). It was shocking to see. On one list I just now referenced, the 5 benefits mentioned are, "Clean, Predictable (unlike wind), less obtrusive (offshore, under water), Controlled growth (can add one device at a time) and Potential source of jobs and economic growth" You can probably guess why I wanted a picture of that sign! I'm very glad for Kelly that she wasn't run out by this ill-conceived placement! It's tragic that others may not be so fortunate... (I suppose I've had my say and thank you for sharing with me! As it's 1 AM, it's time for me to take a deep breath and get some sleep! That said, I have more photos to share of some amazing, fascinating and educational sites we visited over the weekend. THANK YOU for always sharing the time with me...

...from across the pond, "Good night"!
October 3rd, 2014  
Louise, as I read your comment here it made me recall an area that we pass out near Pittsburgh where they have a field with several wind turbines. I agree it does take away from the natural beauty of the landscape. Where I work they also have a gigantic portion of a hillside covered with those solar panels which look so out of place among the old architecture on grounds. Josie struggles with the sight of large areas of trees being cut down to expand housing projects. she hates to think of the wildlife losing their habitat. I guess our modern world doesn't view things the way some of us do.
October 3rd, 2014  
i once read of a nightclub in germany i think, that had an energy producing dance floor that was converted to electricity for the club. so grab your partner and dos i do!
October 3rd, 2014  
@chard that is, unequivocally *The Most Brilliant* idea I've heard of yet!!! "You want Power to the People"?!!! This is it!

Brings to mind, too, a family that generated power to the tv by walking on a tread mill... The brilliant thinkers are out there...time to do some of this!!! Thanks for sharing!!
October 3rd, 2014  
It's cool that you posted this. My brother went there about a year ago and told me all about it!
October 3rd, 2014  
@ceilidh @annelis @digitalrn @chard @danette Thank you all for your keen interest in this site. Regarding Rick's most recent comment just above, I thought that posting this photos from our most recent trip was a proper pairing you might like to see... http://365project.org/Weezilou/album-excess/2014-09-25
October 3rd, 2014  
I'm not sure we will ever really learn how to best care for the Earth while filling our human needs. In Florida, many years ago, they started to build a cross-Florida Barge Canal, which would have essentially cut the state in half. After they got finished with quite a lot of it, they decided it was a bad idea. I have also been reading a history book about canals they built back in the 1800's, including the Erie Canal. They all seemed like good ideas on paper, not executed the best.
October 3rd, 2014  
@danette Danette, your first sentence is so perfectly introspective, it should be included in any discussion regarding climate change and all the drop down details regarding that! I just said to Ken that I wanted to include a photo about our visit to this site, but wasn't sure I had something that was inclusively representative. Just in the responses alone, received already, I'm so glad I posted this... I feel as though we've been able to have a round-table discussion...so very interesting! Thanks!
October 3rd, 2014  
Fascinating and very thought-provoking stuff Louise. Thanks for sharing.
October 4th, 2014  
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